The Cocoa Tigers gouged the junior varsity boys’ basketball team 74-34 in the Cocoa High gym Monday night, and freshman Scott Maggio searched for reasons following the game.

“We need to run our offense correctly,” he said. “And we can’t rush ourselves.”

The team played a solid first quarter but lost focus and the game went downhill from there, according to freshman Zack Shahzad.

But sophomore Carl Koko found reason to be optimistic despite the loss.

“I honestly think that if we stay focused, play our hearts out and not resort to bad habits, we can make a strong push for a winning record,” he said. “It’s all about our communication and trust in each other. We need to keep our heads in the game and give it our all.”

The team’s next game is tonight at Holy Trinity. Start time is scheduled for  5:30 p.m.

By Matthew Marcinkowski